Full-Family Advertising Will Drive Success this Back-to-School Season

Value-driven consumer behavior will be a key driver of the 2025 back-to-school (BTS) shopping season. As economic uncertainty persists, shoppers are getting savvier about where and how they spend their money, making decisions based on perceived worth and timing purchases around major promotions. For advertisers, this means the same old playbooks won’t cut it — to ensure top performance throughout the BTS season, brands need to rethink their messaging and promotional strategies to align with this value-first mindset.

What’s equally important is understanding the “who” behind back-to-school purchasing decisions in 2025. Today’s BTS audience isn’t solely moms and dads — it’s become multi-generational. To better understand these evolving dynamics and identify actionable opportunities for advertisers, we dug into first party MNTN Performance TV data and expert industry research. Here are the key trends we uncovered that will shape back-to-school advertising success this year.

1. Parents May Swipe the Card, But Kids Decide What Makes It Into the Cart

Back-to-school shopping has evolved into a family affair with kids heavily influencing what ends up in shopping carts. Per Statista, 85% of parents said their child/children can influence them to splurge on must-have BTS brands/products, while 61% reported that their kids’ preferences generally push them to spend more.

Increased family co-viewing habits are very likely fueling this shopping behavior shift. According to LG Ad Solutions’ Commercials and Classrooms report, parents spend 59% of their TV time watching alongside their children and 85% have either shopped at a specific store or purchased a specific school supply product after seeing a TV ad.

“What we’ve seen with Gen Z, Gen Alpha is that the strong influence at the very start of the journey leads to twice as many parents considering a brand,” explained Krithika Rosenthal, group director of strategy for GroupM’s Wavemaker U.S. agency. “That’s why it’s important not just to influence the parents, it’s also important to think about how we connect with the kids.”

This dynamic is playing out clearly in fashion and apparel, which still reigns supreme when it comes to shopping lists — 88% of parents named clothing and accessories as their top BTS spending category. Knowing that families are co-viewing and that TV ads drive real shopping behavior, we looked at year-over-year (YoY) performance data for fashion and apparel advertisers.

During the 2024 BTS season, MNTN customers in the fashion and apparel space increased their spending by 9% per advertiser YoY and saw impressive payoffs. Despite the competitiveness of both the industry and the time period — which encompasses major shopping moments like 4th of July, Amazon Prime Day, and Labor Day — these advertisers improved key metrics in a big way.

For many brands, this presents a unique opportunity — because the whole household is especially receptive during the BTS season, campaigns that speak to both parents and kids can drive powerful performance. Another key insight to note: performance during this time often benefits from the combination of back-to-school messaging and broader summer campaign strategies. The season’s shopping spikes can tie into anything from summer travel prep to holiday promotions, making it essential for advertisers to think holistically about warm-weather advertising approaches.

2. BTS Isn’t Just for Kids — Parents Are Treating Themselves, Too

While kids might be increasingly driving BTS purchasing behavior, parents are doing some shopping of their own. According to Deloitte, 50% of parents plan to buy something for themselves during the BTS season. And they’re not holding back — parents who self-gift during this time tend to spend 40% more than those who stick strictly to school supplies.

This trend opens up significant growth potential for advertisers beyond the traditional BTS categories (school supplies, clothing and accessories, etc.). Smart brands are recognizing that the back-to-school season isn’t just about notebooks and backpacks — it’s about reaching parents who are already in spending mode and primed to invest in themselves as well.

Our first-party data supports this. When we looked at the industries of top-performing MNTN advertisers who were live during the 2024 BTS season, some surprising categories emerged alongside the usual suspects. Travel brands landed — pun intended — in the top five for average order value (AOV) and in the top 10 for revenue and ROAS. Automotive and vehicles advertisers also made the top 10 for revenue, ROAS, and AOV. Pets and animal brands drove powerful average conversion rates and made the top 10 for AOV.

For advertisers, these findings reinforce a crucial point — brands in unexpected categories can benefit from running campaigns during the noisy BTS season by appealing to parents with an increased spending mindset.

3. Gen Z Is Bringing Both Influence and Purchasing Power to BTS Shopping

Gen Z is quickly emerging as a major purchasing force compared to other generations. Today, Gen Z accounts for approximately 17.1% of total global spend ($57.6 trillion), and by 2030, that figure is projected to jump to 18.7% ($67.2 trillion).

When it comes to BTS shopping specifically, 83% of Gen Z shop for themselves — this group is made up of 63% college students and 27% high schoolers. On top of this, Gen Z is more willing to splurge than other generations.

Understanding how to reach this consumer group is crucial, and the answer lies heavily in video content. A massive 84% of Gen Z prefer video content — that’s 39% more than the general population. But it’s not just any video that resonates — they favor first-hand recommendations. According to LTK, 71% of Gen Z are more likely to try a brand after seeing a creator (aka influencer) post, and 59% will actually shop in-store based on creator recommendations.

Ad creative from top performing MNTN customers who ran campaigns during BTS 2024 indicates that many brands are already shifting their messaging to appeal more to Gen Z. Here are some in-ad trends we found that highlight this:

• Influencers and creators speaking directly to camera about products — mimicking the authentic social content Gen Z consumes daily
• Gen Z-aged actors prominently featured in advertisements
• Storytelling that highlights Gen Z individuals in clear BTS contexts

Advertisers take note — despite their digital upbringing, Gen Z still shows a strong preference for shopping in person. To ensure BTS campaign success, brands need to focus on bridging the digital-to-physical gap. Additionally, to best capture Gen Z’s growing purchasing power during the BTS season, campaigns need to speak their language: video-first, creator-influenced, and authentically delivered.

Time to Ace Your BTS Advertising Campaigns

The back-to-school advertising season has evolved. Today’s BTS landscape demands a more nuanced approach — one that recognizes the multi-generational decision-making process, capitalizes on parents’ self-gifting habits, and speaks directly to Gen Z’s growing purchasing power.

For advertisers looking to maximize their BTS performance, Connected TV (CTV) offers the perfect platform to reach engaged multi-generational audiences. With the ability to deliver ads that resonate with both parents and kids, while also capturing Gen Z’s preference for authentic, creator-forward video content, CTV provides the reach and precision needed to turn the competitive BTS shopping season into an A+ for your brand.